Understanding PM better (moving from TELUS)

[ReillyWood]

Hello,

  I'm very interested in understanding PM better and if it will work for me and my family.

  I'm currently on a TELUS Business plan, 4 phones, two in Vancouver, one in Victoria, one in London, Ont. (last two are students).  I'm looking at switching all four to PM.  Two of the phones have a device balance and are currently locked to Telus, the other two have no balance and are unlocked.

  Our biggest issues the last few months are data and long-distance charges.  We share 4GB amongst us with a typical combined monthly usage between 3-5GB.  I think 2GB each on the PM $45 ($135 for 90 days) plan would be a better deal.  Also, the Canada-wide calling would eliminate our current LD charges. 

  Am I correct in understanding the following:

• I can port all four numbers via the Self-service site
• To move all four phones to PM from TELUS, we would have to pay-out the device balance and unlock the two phones (and I assume this would be charged by TELUS during the porting process)
• We would need new SIM cards for each phone
• To make LD calls outside of Canada we would need a LD plan.  Without a LD plan, we would not be able to make nor receive calls to/from outside Canada
• We would all get the same network coverage under PM that we get today under TELUS
• If we travel to other countries, we can add a short-term travel plan to cover things like data, calling, texting

  I appreciate any help and  thank you in advance.

Rob Wood

[Ionut]

Lol. Wind:))) man my friends doesn't have signal inside of Eton center. How the hack in the middle of the town to have 0 signal. Also. If you go in a place where is crowded you will be out of signal in seconds.
I'm waiting for that guy to finish the 2 years contract and move to public

[stonechucker]

In Ontario, the WIND coverage is mainly the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, plus bigger centres like Kitchener-Wtaerloo, Cambridge, London, Brantford, Windsor.  Anything that isn't on a major 400 series highway is gong to suffer in "away" areas.

*IF* you own the phone, depending on the package, you get credits (time period varies) to cover "away" voice calling, texting, and cheaper data rates.

The data speeds are not faithfully anything greater than 3G.  Full Speed data is available to cap amount on all plans (range from 2-10 GB), and all data after than is throttled back to something like 128kb/s

Telus coverage is all over Southern Ontario, a lot of it I think is 4G, fall back to 3G.

I still think your best for the London phone is Public Mobile.

[srlawren]

@ReillyWood yep, that's the correct usage of Bravos.  Or for just indicating you like a post.

For #1 on your list, there is a roaming option coming from PM, presumably launching sometime next month.  The announcment thread is here: http://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Announcements/Guess-What-Hint-We-had-to-update-our-Ter....  We don't know much in the way of particulars yet, in particular pricing and what's included.  It also sounds like it may be limited to 10 consecutive calendar day packages, which may be limiting.

iMessage works fine.  People run into some setup issues if they don't have the text messaging option in their plan, but otherwise it should work just fine.

[ReillyWood]

Right now, I'm sitting on the fence.  I might test the waters by moving over one of the lines.

Some concerns I have:

1. US roaming.  Not a big deal, I'm OK with the idea of switching in a local US SIM, but I do wish (not just with PM but with all CA carriers) that this ability was more seamless AND low cost.  One benefit of the current PM solution is that there's no risk of leakage charges.  I've had that in previous US travels, getting home and receiving a $200 data bill.
2. iPhone features.  Some people mention that some iPhone features don't work or don't work well, like imessaging.  Is that true?
3. Customer service.  Lots of complaints about that.  I think that's likely an outcome of the type of interface PM uses (all through online forums) and being a startup company (growing pains).  I'm not currently concerned about this too much.
4. Cost.  The pricing is much better than most any other.  By my estimate, we would save a bundle over two years compared with most any other plan but Wind.  Wind is by far the better pricing but I fear the coverage.  And one area in particular is Victoria, which Wind covers only by a partner (which I assume means extra cost).

So a possible way forward is to switch one of the lines (probably the phone in Victoria) to the 2GB / Canada-wide calling and give it a try for a month or three.  Worst that happens I assume is that I'm out some portion of the 90-day PM cost and whatever Telus would charge me to re-add the line back to my current plan.

Again, thank you all for your help.

Rob Wood

P.S.  Am I using the Bravos correctly?  I'm using them like a "thank you".  

[ReillyWood]

I don't mind the idea that data just stops.  At least then I don't have to worry about unplanned overage costs.

Rob Wood

[ReillyWood]

Thank you @srlawren.  However, I only set it up as a business account because it had better features.  Switching to individual for better features and pricing isn't a problem.  

And thanks for the info on getting help and the possible renewal time issues.  Those are possible concerns but it sounds like they are low probability.

Rob Wood

[daredogg]

Some very sage advice from @srlawren!

I operate a business from home, and have a secondary voip line through Ooma ($4.50 per month, can't go wrong). I forward all my business calls to my cell anyway, but it's good to have another phone in the house just in case. Plus it's WAY cheaper than Bell or some of the other home phone options out there.

[Luddite]

Here is my thinking on SECURITY OF SERVICE and backup plan for outages, of whatever kind.

I too was with Telus and had no issues with the transfer though I did activate with a temporary number before porting; it is best to use the account number rather than the other identifiers.

[srlawren]

@ReillyWood I meant to add that with 4 lines, you also have more overhead.  Each has to be in a separate account and managed separately, rather than the 1 account you have today with Telus. Because each is independent, you also don't get the benefits of a shared data pool as you do today with Telus also.  One last thing: it sounds like you sometimes go over your data buckets today.  With PM being pre-paid, your data just stops if you reach your limit before your renewal, and you either have to live without it until renewal, renew early (forfeitting any remaining value in your current cycle), or buy an expensive ($30/GB) data add-on to keep using data.  Just another thing to be aware of that might have more impact to business lines than to personal.

[srlawren]

@ReillyWood yes, I made the move from Telus over a year ago and am delighted with PM.

That said, I'm going to mention a few things to be aware of.  Because you are using the service for business, I'm going to caution you a little.  PM operates on the Telus network and gives the same quality network service as already noted.  However, be aware that help or customer service, if needed, is only provided via email support (which I don't recommend--their turnaround times have been much slower compared to the community) or via the community here.  There's nobody you can call if issues come up.  Although most things are smooth for most people, there are some system glitches which could lead to issues around renewal dates (which are every 30 or 90 days, depending on the plan length you choose) and could lead to some temporary disruptions to your service.  As I said, this is relatively rare but we do see people here in the community with these issues.  For most people, using PM for personal use, this isn't critical and they can tolerate a few hours to a few days (very rare) before resolution.  For business lines, this might not be an acceptable risk, and the fact that you can't just call someone up for support might be a deal-breaker for mission-critical communication.

As I said, for many people, PM is a great fit, and I have zero regrets moving to PM; but for businesses, I'd think longer and harder about it, personally.  Something to consider.

[neo911]

@ReillyWood

Well, you would be making a wise decision porting to PM.

All your queries have been answered but do keep in mind the referral rewards.

Activate one PM sim card and then use that no. for a referral to second PM number. You can use same referral number for all the 3 subsequent activations or different numbers depending on who wants all the referral rewards.

You would get $3 in total per month for 4 PM nos.

Good luck with the porting process.

[ReillyWood]

Wow!

Thank you to everyone who responded.  I stepped away to play some squash and was gladly surprised to see so many positive answers.

I take it that you all are pretty happy with your choice to move to PM?

Rob Wood

[NDesai]

All these active users have pretty much sumed your Qs. If you have any further questions or concerns, let us know. 

[stonechucker]

For the SIM card ordering, it seems delivery is next day in Ontario if ordered befor 12 noon Eastern.  I ordered a SIM yesterday at 11 am, and received it in Brantford today sometime.  London should be similar time frame.

someone mentioned yesterday they had next day delivery from In Calgary.  It appears the cards are being shipped from Mississauga (Toronto), by CanadaPost priority mail.

coverage here is great!  You should be greatly pleased with PM services.

i also agree to get the phones unlocked at some point.  If you decide to leave PM, you have more options unlocked.

hope to see you on Public Mobile!

[imm1304]

Just want to clarify 2 points that @aip0401 made:

1.  Unlocking:  I can confirm as a former Telus customer that my Telus locked phone works flawlessly with PM.  There is really no urgency to unlock your phones from Telus unless you are heading out of the country very soon.  Unless your phones are iPhones, its usually a lot cheaper to buy unlock codes from 3rd party sellers online.  

2.  Roaming:  As of today, there is no roaming service with PM.  Your PM line will stop working as soon as you step out of Canada.  Recently, US roaming has been announced, as @Luddite said its expected to be available in November.  Besides the US, there is no realistic hope of any international roaming service becoming available with PM in near future.  However, you can easily work around this by using a sim card from local area where you go when travelling outside US/Canada.  

[Luddite]

PM will unlock your Telus phones later if you would rather wait: http://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Knowledge-Base/Unlocking-Your-Phone/ta-p/5237

[geogolem]

I'll try to answer your questions.

You will need a new sim card for each phone. 

Once you have the sim cards you will need to activate each sim, one at a time. During this process you will be able to port one number per sim.

You will need 4 email addresses and will be creating 4 self serve accounts. Each will correspond to one sim which will correspond to one phone number. I would recommend avoiding the use of any email addresses that were or are used currently with telus.

You do not need to unlock the phones. Telus and Koodo phones work as is with public mobile. When you request the port while activating a public mobile sim it will cancel the telus line. Any device balances owing will show up on your subsequent and final telus bill.

To make long distance calls to outside Canada you will need the long distance add on which does not expire but will be available until it's used up.

You currently cannot use public mobile to make calls when you are outside Canada; however a US roaming add on will be available soon.

If you have the Canada wide calling option you can make and receive calls to or from anywhere in Canada. The details of the US roaming add on have yet to be revealed.

You will have the same network coverage as Telus in Canada.

[aip0401]

Yes, that's generally correct.  A few notes:

• I would unlock the phones with Telus before porting the numbers over.  Even though Public Mobile is owned by Telus and uses the same network, from your phone's perspective, they are two entirely different carriers.  
• When you port your numbers to Public Mobile, make sure your Telus service is still active (do not cancel it beforehand; otherwise, you'll lose your numbers).
• To make LD calls outside of Canada, you would need a roaming plan, which depends on whether Public Mobile has a roaming agreement with the carriers in the country that you're currently in.  Generally speaking, because your phones are unlocked, when you're travelling to other countries, it may be cheaper to buy a SIM card from local carriers and use their service instead, but your mileage may vary.

Hope that helps!

[Luddite · Accepted solution]

  Am I correct in understanding the following:

• I can port all four numbers via the Self-service site
  
  • Correct; just do not cancel the account as that happens automatically once the transfer is complete. Also, 
• To move all four phones to PM from TELUS, we would have to pay-out the device balance and unlock the two phones (and I assume this would be charged by TELUS during the porting process)
  • You would have to buy out the phones but no need to pay for unlocking. All Telus/Koodo phones operate on PM without unlocking. 
• We would need new SIM cards for each phone
  • Yes, plus separate accounts/email addresses for each. You can only order 1 at a time and there is a courier fee that is rebated when each SIM is activated.
•  To make LD calls outside of Canada we would need a LD plan.  Without a LD plan, we would not be able to make nor receive calls to/from outside Canada
• • Yes to call; incoming calls do not require you to have long distance.
• We would all get the same network coverage under PM that we get today under TELUS
  • Yes; except for the far north where Telus has a sharing arrangement with others. Believe it is called "Extended Coverage".
• If we travel to other countries, we can add a short-term travel plan to cover things like data, calling, texting
  • NO; PM has no roaming and only functions within Canada. There has been an announcement of roaming plans for USA; expected some time in November. For travel you would need to unlock the phone(s) and acquire local SIMs.

If you decide to proceed, let us know before you order SIMs. There are members in Vancouver and Ontario that may have spare SIMs if you are willing to pick them up.